As the Livestock Industry Touts Manure-to-Energy Projects, Environmentalists Cry ‘Greenwashing’

When the world’s largest pork producer and a major public utility announced they would team up to turn hog manure from North Carolina swine farms into energy, they billed the effort as a win for the climate. But critics say the use of biogas—the natural gas captured from manure—allows the agricultural and energy industries to continue business as usual without reducing their carbon emissions.